ACTIVE CITIZEN

noun (Politics) A member of the public who takes an active role in the community, usually by getting involved in crime prevention, good neighbour schemes, etc. Etymology: Formed by compounding: a citizen who is active in society rather than passively soaking up the benefits of community life. History and Usage: The term active citizen was first used in the name of the Active Citizen Force, a White militia in South Africa, set up in 1912 and consisting of male citizens undergoing national service. In a completely separate development, active citizen started to be used in the US from the late seventies as a more polite way of saying 'political activist' or even 'future politician'; some active citizens even organized themselves into pressure groups which were able to affect local government policies. In the UK, the term active citizen and the associated policy of active citizenship were popularized by the Conservative government of the eighties, which placed great emphasis upon them, especially after the Conservative Party conference of 1988. The focus of active citizenship as encouraged by this government was on crime prevention (including neighbourhood watch) and public order, rather than political activism. This put it on the borderline with vigilante activity, a cause of some difficulty in turning the policy into concrete action. Pervading the researches will be an effort to plumb individuals' moral convictions, their motives for joining or not joining in active citizenship. Christian Science Monitor (New England edition) 2 June 1980, p. 32 Intermediate institutions...help to produce the 'active citizen' which Ministers such as Douglas Hurd have sought to call into existence to supplement gaps in welfare provision. Daily Telegraph 3 May 1989, p. 18 'Active citizens'...brought unsafe or unethical practices by their employers to official notice. As their stories reveal, active citizenship carries considerable personal risk. Blacklisting by other employers is a frequent consequence. Guardian 27 June 1990, p. 23